Don't panic is the message from the All Blacks as they qualified for the quarter-finals, captain Richie McCaw says 'errors are easy to fix' and coach Steve Hansen says they struggled with the 'lone bullet' defense but will learn and adapt.
I am glad I haven't forked out a lot of coin to go to the UK for the World Cup because there's been little to enthuse over when it comes to the All Blacks.
This morning's game was mundane, when very little went right, and you have to say they look vulnerable. Captain Richie McCaw said don't panic but I'm more worried than I was at the start of the tournament.
One of the biggest concerns for me is the fact other teams will be growing in confidence from what they have seen from New Zealand. We haven't seen a polished performance from Steve Hansen's side yet and that's a concern.
I can imagine the video analysts from rival sides gathering some evidence to show how the All Blacks are handling pressure. If they couldn't cope with Georgia's rush defence yesterday, what are they going to be like when the pressure really goes on in a knockout game?
A rush defence is nothing new and I remember Warren Gatland implementing one when he was Waikato coach all those moons ago.
It's often important to look for the positives after every performance ... but there weren't many today. Dane Coles was quite good, Julian Savea crossed for three tries and Tony Woodcock and Owen Franks made a difference when they came on, clearly having been stung by being benched.
But there wasn't much else to enthuse about. It was 22-10 for about an hour, for goodness sake. Yes, Georgia deserve a lot of credit for the way they attacked their work and coach Milton Haig might be kicking himself he didn't play his A side, but it was sloppy.
The All Blacks and Georgian forward packs battle. Photo / Brett Phibbs
We know the All Blacks are better than that and probably just need to put it down to a bad day at the office - a very bad day.
I'm not sure Hansen will need to say very much to his players because the power of self-analysis is a strong message. The players will have pride in their own work and will know they weren't good enough. At least they should.
I saw Dan Carter smiling afterwards. Well, he didn't have much to smile about and I dare say he would have found himself on the bench if the All Blacks had had a fit first five-eighths.
The handling was a concern, players tried to offload too much, the kickoffs were messy, halfback Aaron Smith needs to tone things down a bit and even when Keven Mealamu came on his first throw was wonky - that's his principal role. Imagine if that had come after a kick into the corner with the game on the line like what England did last weekend ...
Another positive is the fact the All Blacks don't appear to have any serious injuries. They have so far dodged a bullet.
The All Blacks will know Tonga will come at them hard next Saturday but they really need to win in style to prove to themselves and the world they are still top dogs.
We know the All Blacks are virtually unstoppable when they get it right. We're just not seeing it at the moment.
Image 1 of 12: All Blacks captain Richie McCaw before the Pool C match between New Zealand and Georgia. Photo / Brett Phibbs
